Tim Wessman worked for several weeks on his HP-50 calculator design, and was even finishing up his entry the night before his wedding. While on his honeymoon, Tim sent in his design, with hopes it would be a winner.
When Tim was notified he had won first place in the university division of the contest, he was completely surprised.
"I was about to leave to take a calculus test when I got the e-mail," Tim said. "I didn't really believe it at first. Eventually I calmed down enough to go take my test, but I didn't do too well because I was so distracted."
Currently pursuing a degree in manufacturing engineering at Brigham Young University in Utah, Tim's winning entry includes innovative ideas about design, display, keyboard and interface, user programs, compatibility, communication, test mode and durability. It is designed for rugged use in the field and is able to network with other devices in order to more efficiently store and transmit the calculations it makes for later use.
"I was trying to design a device that would interact seamlessly with other pieces of professional equipment including computers, data collection equipment and lab tools, said Tim. "I wanted to design a new class of device designed to be useful for university students, but more targeted for professionals in technical fields."
This was the first year that the Create-a-Calculator contest was open to university students, which pleased Tim tremendously.
"I was ineligible to enter," said Tim, who recalled when the first contest was announced several years ago. "I was very excited that there was a university level this year."
Wessman, who was a junior when he entered the contest, hopes to someday design personal electronic devices and has written several programs for use on HP calculators. He currently is in the process of starting a company geared toward making the HP 49g+ graphing calculator into a field tool for land surveyors. Find more information at www.pssllc.com
Tim, a native of Idaho, also enjoys ballroom dancing in his free time.
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